The Carolina Panthers took a major leap forward in 2025, winning the NFC South and making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Quarterback Bryce Young knows that there is no promise the Panthers will be back, though, so he has no intention of sleeping on his laurels.
“Obviously, we want to make sure that we can be consistent with some of the positives from last year,” Bryce Young said. “But, also, we understand that last year was last year. This is a new season. We all start 0-0. There’s no carryover. We’re not entitled to anything.”
The Panthers made the playoffs by winning a flawed division in 2025. Their 8-9 record was good enough to win the division, but the odds are that it won’t cut it again in 2026. So, it’s time to put in the work over the offseason.
“So, I’m super grateful for that being our mindset as a team,” Young said. “Everyone knows we can’t take our foot off the gas. We have to work just as hard, if not harder, as we have these last few years. Everything is earned, and now is not the time to be thinking about records or anything like that. It’s just about the work.”
Carolina Panthers Pick Up Fifth-Year Option for Bryce Young
GettyCarolina Panthers QB Bryce Young
The Carolina Panthers announced at the end of April that they would be picking up the fifth-year option for quarterback Bryce Young. That will keep the former first-overall pick with the Panthers through the 2027 season.
Young is coming off the best season of his professional career statistically. He completed 63.6% of his passes for 3,011 yards and 23 touchdowns. So, it’s not a surprise that this season aligned with the Panthers getting back to the playoffs.
By picking up his fifth-year option, the Panthers have not completely decided to stick with Young in the long-term. It’s just given them more time to make that decision. He is still going to need to prove he’s worth a contract extension in the next couple of years. That makes 2026 vital for Young as the team decides what to do next.
Panthers GM Dan Morgan on Bryce Young’s Future with the Panthers
GettyCarolina Panthers QB Bryce Young
No decision has been made yet, but it does appear that the Carolina Panthers want things to work out with Bryce Young. That means seeing him play up to those expectations that come with being the first-overall pick. Do that, and an extension will be on the way.
Panthers GM Dan Morgan recently appeared on Mad Dog Sports Radio. There, he shared the team has had internal conversations bout Young’s future with the team.
“I’m actually signing his fifth-year option today, we’re picking that up. In terms of a long-term contract, that’s something that we’re talking about here internally, and we’ll do it at the right time,” Morgan said.
Morgan would add that it’s been a difficult transition at times to the NFL for Young. That’s not entirely his fault, though, and the Panthers like how he’s grown since then.
“Getting back to Bryce, obviously he came into a really rough situation in terms of coaching staff, maybe you could say the talent around him wasn’t great as well,” Morgan said. “So to come in as a rookie and come into a really tough situation where we had a coaching change, a lot of shuffling around the building, so for Coach Canales to come in here and provide stability, for him to be in the system now going on three years in a row, I think you see him just getting better and better every single year…So we really feel like the arrow is up with Bryce.”
Until an extension is offered to Young, anything could happen in the future. However, it’s clear that the hope is that he earns it on the field.
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